Central receiver for performing capacitive sensing

ABSTRACT

This disclosure generally provides an input device that includes multiple sensor and display electrodes and a processing system. The processing system includes a plurality of local receivers coupled to respective ones of the sensor electrodes, where the local receivers are configured to acquire first resulting signals from the sensor electrodes. The processing system also includes a central receiver coupled to the sensor electrodes and configured to acquire second resulting signals from each of the sensor electrodes.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/788,739, filed Jun. 30, 2015. This application also claims thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/100,051, filedJan. 5, 2015. The foregoing applications are incorporated by referencein their entirety.

BACKGROUND Field

Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to electronicdevices, and more specifically, to modulating reference voltages toperform capacitive sensing.

Background of the Invention

Input devices including proximity sensor devices (also commonly calledtouchpads or touch sensor devices) are widely used in a variety ofelectronic systems. A proximity sensor device typically includes asensing region, often demarked by a surface, in which the proximitysensor device determines the presence, location and/or motion of one ormore input objects. Proximity sensor devices may be used to provideinterfaces for the electronic system. For example, proximity sensordevices are often used as input devices for larger computing systems(such as opaque touchpads integrated in, or peripheral to, notebook ordesktop computers). Proximity sensor devices are also often used insmaller computing systems (such as touch screens integrated in cellularphones).

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One embodiment described herein includes an input device that includes aplurality of sensor electrodes, display electrodes, and a processingsystem. The processing system includes a plurality of local receiverscoupled to respective ones of the sensor electrodes, where the localreceivers are configured to acquire first resulting signals from thesensor electrodes. The processing system further includes a centralreceiver coupled to the sensor electrodes, where the central receiver isconfigured to acquire second resulting signals from each of the sensorelectrodes simultaneously.

Another embodiment described herein includes a processing system thatincludes a plurality of local receivers coupled to respective ones of aplurality of sensor electrodes, where the local receivers are configuredto acquire first resulting signals from the sensor electrodes. Theprocessing system includes a central receiver coupled to the sensorelectrodes and is configured to acquire second resulting signals fromeach of the sensor electrodes simultaneously.

Another embodiment described herein includes a method that includesreceiving first resulting signals at a plurality of local receivers froma plurality of sensor electrodes for performing capacitive sensing,wherein each of the local receivers is coupled with a respective one ofthe sensor electrodes. The method also includes receiving secondresulting signals at a central receiver from the sensor electrodes,where the central receiver is coupled with the sensor electrodes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above recited features of the presentinvention can be understood in detail, a more particular description ofthe disclosure, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference toembodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Itis to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate onlytypical embodiments of this disclosure and are therefore not to beconsidered limiting of its scope, for the disclosure may admit to otherequally effective embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary system that includes an inputdevice in accordance with embodiments of this disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an input device that modulates reference voltage rails forperforming capacitive sensing, according to one embodiment describedherein;

FIG. 3 is an input device that modulates reference voltage rails forperforming capacitive sensing, according to one embodiment describedherein;

FIG. 4 is an input device that modulates reference voltage rails forperforming capacitive sensing, according to one embodiment describedherein;

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of a reference voltage modulator, accordingto one embodiment described herein;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram for waking up an input device from a low powerstate using modulated reference voltage rails, according to oneembodiment described herein;

FIG. 7 illustrate an exemplary electrode arrangement for performingcapacitive sensing, according to one embodiment described herein;

FIG. 8 is an input device that detects a noise signal or a communicationsignal from an active input object, according to one embodimentdescribed herein;

FIG. 9 is circuit diagram of a receiver for acquiring resulting signalsto identify the noise or communication signal, according to oneembodiment described herein;

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram for identifying the noise or communicationsignal using capacitive sensing, according to one embodiment describedherein;

FIG. 11 illustrates various capacitances between an input device and anenvironment, according to one embodiment described herein;

FIG. 12 is an input device that modulates reference voltage rails forperforming capacitive sensing, according to one embodiment describedherein;

FIG. 13 is a flow chart for mitigating effects of a low ground masscondition, according to one embodiment described herein;

FIG. 14 illustrates various capacitances between an input device and anenvironment, according to one embodiment described herein; and

FIG. 15 is a chart representing the results of mitigating the effects ofa low ground mass condition, according to one embodiment describedherein.

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have beenused, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common tothe figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in oneembodiment may be beneficially utilized on other embodiments withoutspecific recitation. The drawings referred to here should not beunderstood as being drawn to scale unless specifically noted. Also, thedrawings are often simplified and details or components omitted forclarity of presentation and explanation. The drawings and discussionserve to explain principles discussed below, where like designationsdenote like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and isnot intended to limit the disclosure or its application and uses.Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed orimplied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background,brief summary or the following detailed description.

Various embodiments of the present invention provide an input devicethat includes a reference voltage modulator that modulates referencevoltage rails when performing capacitive sensing. In one embodiment,reference voltage rails are coupled to a DC power source which providespower to operate a panel that includes a display screen integrated witha touch sensing region. Before performing capacitive sensing, the inputdevice may isolate the DC power source from the reference voltage railsand use the reference voltage rails to modulate the rails—e.g., V_(DD)and V_(GND). For example, the reference voltage modulator may cause thevoltages on the rails to change by the same increment. That is, if ahigh reference rail (e.g., V_(DD)) increases by 1V, the referencevoltage modulator also increases a low reference rail (e.g., V_(GND)) by1V. In this example, the voltage difference between the referencevoltage rails remains constant as the rails are modulated. As usedherein, isolating the reference voltage rails may not require physicallydisconnecting the rails from the power source. Instead, the referencevoltage rails may be inductively or capacitively coupled to the powersource.

In one embodiment, the reference voltage rails are modulated (andcapacitive sensing is performed) when the input device is in a low powerstate. In one example, the display/sensing panel (and a backlight, ifapplicable) is turned off and does not draw power. Nonetheless, bymodulating the reference voltage rails, display and sensor electrodes inthe display/sensing panel can be used to perform capacitive sensing.Stated differently, by modulating the reference voltage rails, an inputobject (e.g., a finger) capacitively coupled to the display and sensorelectrodes in the panel can be detected by measuring a change incapacitance. Once the input object is detected, the input device wakesup, switching from the low power state to an active state.

In one embodiment, when performing capacitive sensing by modulating thereference voltage rails, the display and sensor electrodes are treatedas one capacitive pixel or electrode. As such, by measuring resultingsignals from the display and sensor electrodes, the input devicedetermines whether an input object is proximate to the panel but doesnot determine a particular location on the panel where the input objectis contacting or hovering over. Instead, once in the active state, theinput device may perform a more granular type of capacitive sensingtechnique that identifies a particular location of the input object in asensing region. When performing capacitive sensing in the active state,the input device may drive DC voltages onto the reference voltagerails—i.e., the rails are unmodulated or the rails are modulated butwithout sensing the current or charge require to do so.

Turning now to the figures, FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplaryinput device 100, in accordance with embodiments of the invention. Theinput device 100 may be configured to provide input to an electronicsystem (not shown). As used in this document, the term “electronicsystem” (or “electronic device”) broadly refers to any system capable ofelectronically processing information. Some non-limiting examples ofelectronic systems include personal computers of all sizes and shapes,such as desktop computers, laptop computers, netbook computers, tablets,web browsers, e-book readers, and personal digital assistants (PDAs).Additional example electronic systems include composite input devices,such as physical keyboards that include input device 100 and separatejoysticks or key switches. Further example electronic systems includeperipherals such as data input devices (including remote controls andmice), and data output devices (including display screens and printers).Other examples include remote terminals, kiosks, and video game machines(e.g., video game consoles, portable gaming devices, and the like).Other examples include communication devices (including cellular phones,such as smart phones), and media devices (including recorders, editors,and players such as televisions, set-top boxes, music players, digitalphoto frames, and digital cameras). Additionally, the electronic systemcould be a host or a slave to the input device.

The input device 100 can be implemented as a physical part of theelectronic system, or can be physically separate from the electronicsystem. As appropriate, the input device 100 may communicate with partsof the electronic system using any one or more of the following: buses,networks, and other wired or wireless interconnections. Examples includeI²C, SPI, PS/2, Universal Serial Bus (USB), Bluetooth®, RF, and IRDA.

In FIG. 1 , the input device 100 is shown as a proximity sensor device(also often referred to as a “touchpad” or a “touch sensor device”)configured to sense input provided by one or more input objects 140 in asensing region 120. Example input objects include fingers and styli, asshown in FIG. 1 .

Sensing region 120 encompasses any space above, around, in and/or nearthe input device 100 in which the input device 100 is able to detectuser input (e.g., user input provided by one or more input objects 140).The sizes, shapes, and locations of particular sensing regions may varywidely from embodiment to embodiment. In some embodiments, the sensingregion 120 extends from a surface of the input device 100 in one or moredirections into space until signal-to-noise ratios prevent sufficientlyaccurate object detection. The distance to which this sensing region 120extends in a particular direction, in various embodiments, may be on theorder of less than a millimeter, millimeters, centimeters, or more, andmay vary significantly with the type of sensing technology used and theaccuracy desired. Thus, some embodiments sense input that comprises nocontact with any surfaces of the input device 100, contact with an inputsurface (e.g. a touch surface) of the input device 100, contact with aninput surface of the input device 100 coupled with some amount ofapplied force or pressure, and/or a combination thereof. In variousembodiments, input surfaces may be provided by surfaces of casingswithin which the sensor electrodes reside, by face sheets applied overthe sensor electrodes or any casings, etc. In some embodiments, thesensing region 120 has a rectangular shape when projected onto an inputsurface of the input device 100.

The input device 100 may utilize any combination of sensor componentsand sensing technologies to detect user input in the sensing region 120.The input device 100 comprises one or more sensing elements fordetecting user input. As several non-limiting examples, the input device100 may use capacitive, elastive, resistive, inductive, magnetic,acoustic, ultrasonic, and/or optical techniques.

Some implementations are configured to provide images that span one,two, three, or higher dimensional spaces. Some implementations areconfigured to provide projections of input along particular axes orplanes.

In some resistive implementations of the input device 100, a flexibleand conductive first layer is separated by one or more spacer elementsfrom a conductive second layer. During operation, one or more voltagegradients are created across the layers. Pressing the flexible firstlayer may deflect it sufficiently to create electrical contact betweenthe layers, resulting in voltage outputs reflective of the point(s) ofcontact between the layers. These voltage outputs may be used todetermine positional information.

In some inductive implementations of the input device 100, one or moresensing elements pick up loop currents induced by a resonating coil orpair of coils. Some combination of the magnitude, phase, and frequencyof the currents may then be used to determine positional information.

In some capacitive implementations of the input device 100, voltage orcurrent is applied to create an electric field. Nearby input objectscause changes in the electric field, and produce detectable changes incapacitive coupling that may be detected as changes in voltage, current,or the like.

Some capacitive implementations utilize arrays or other regular orirregular patterns of capacitive sensing elements to create electricfields. In some capacitive implementations, separate sensing elementsmay be ohmically shorted together to form larger sensor electrodes. Somecapacitive implementations utilize resistive sheets, which may beuniformly resistive.

Some capacitive implementations utilize “self capacitance” (or “absolutecapacitance”) sensing methods based on changes in the capacitivecoupling between sensor electrodes and an input object. In variousembodiments, an input object near the sensor electrodes alters theelectric field near the sensor electrodes, thus changing the measuredcapacitive coupling. In one implementation, an absolute capacitancesensing method operates by modulating sensor electrodes with respect toa reference voltage (e.g. system ground), and by detecting thecapacitive coupling between the sensor electrodes and input objects.

Some capacitive implementations utilize “mutual capacitance” (or“transcapacitance”) sensing methods based on changes in the capacitivecoupling between sensor electrodes. In various embodiments, an inputobject near the sensor electrodes alters the electric field between thesensor electrodes, thus changing the measured capacitive coupling. Inone implementation, a transcapacitive sensing method operates bydetecting the capacitive coupling between one or more transmitter sensorelectrodes (also “transmitter electrodes” or “transmitters”) and one ormore receiver sensor electrodes (also “receiver electrodes” or“receivers”). Transmitter sensor electrodes may be modulated relative toa reference voltage (e.g., system ground) to transmit transmittersignals. Receiver sensor electrodes may be held substantially constantrelative to the reference voltage to facilitate receipt of resultingsignals. A resulting signal may comprise effect(s) corresponding to oneor more transmitter signals, and/or to one or more sources ofenvironmental interference (e.g. other electromagnetic signals). Sensorelectrodes may be dedicated transmitters or receivers, or may beconfigured to both transmit and receive.

In FIG. 1 , a processing system 110 is shown as part of the input device100. The processing system 110 is configured to operate the hardware ofthe input device 100 to detect input in the sensing region 120. Theprocessing system 110 comprises parts of or all of one or moreintegrated circuits (ICs) and/or other circuitry components. Forexample, a processing system for a mutual capacitance sensor device maycomprise transmitter circuitry configured to transmit signals withtransmitter sensor electrodes, and/or receiver circuitry configured toreceive signals with receiver sensor electrodes). In some embodiments,the processing system 110 also comprises electronically-readableinstructions, such as firmware code, software code, and/or the like. Insome embodiments, components composing the processing system 110 arelocated together, such as near sensing element(s) of the input device100. In other embodiments, components of processing system 110 arephysically separate with one or more components close to sensingelement(s) of input device 100, and one or more components elsewhere.For example, the input device 100 may be a peripheral coupled to adesktop computer, and the processing system 110 may comprise softwareconfigured to run on a central processing unit of the desktop computerand one or more ICs (perhaps with associated firmware) separate from thecentral processing unit. As another example, the input device 100 may bephysically integrated in a phone, and the processing system 110 maycomprise circuits and firmware that are part of a main processor of thephone. In some embodiments, the processing system 110 is dedicated toimplementing the input device 100. In other embodiments, the processingsystem 110 also performs other functions, such as operating displayscreens, driving haptic actuators, etc.

The processing system 110 may be implemented as a set of modules thathandle different functions of the processing system 110. Each module maycomprise circuitry that is a part of the processing system 110,firmware, software, or a combination thereof. In various embodiments,different combinations of modules may be used. Example modules includehardware operation modules for operating hardware such as sensorelectrodes and display screens, data processing modules for processingdata such as sensor signals and positional information, and reportingmodules for reporting information. Further example modules includesensor operation modules configured to operate sensing element(s) todetect input, identification modules configured to identify gesturessuch as mode changing gestures, and mode changing modules for changingoperation modes.

In some embodiments, the processing system 110 responds to user input(or lack of user input) in the sensing region 120 directly by causingone or more actions. Example actions include changing operation modes,as well as GUI actions such as cursor movement, selection, menunavigation, and other functions. In some embodiments, the processingsystem 110 provides information about the input (or lack of input) tosome part of the electronic system (e.g. to a central processing systemof the electronic system that is separate from the processing system110, if such a separate central processing system exists). In someembodiments, some part of the electronic system processes informationreceived from the processing system 110 to act on user input, such as tofacilitate a full range of actions, including mode changing actions andGUI actions.

For example, in some embodiments, the processing system 110 operates thesensing element(s) of the input device 100 to produce electrical signalsindicative of input (or lack of input) in the sensing region 120. Theprocessing system 110 may perform any appropriate amount of processingon the electrical signals in producing the information provided to theelectronic system. For example, the processing system 110 may digitizeanalog electrical signals obtained from the sensor electrodes. Asanother example, the processing system 110 may perform filtering orother signal conditioning. As yet another example, the processing system110 may subtract or otherwise account for a baseline, such that theinformation reflects a difference between the electrical signals and thebaseline. As yet further examples, the processing system 110 maydetermine positional information, recognize inputs as commands,recognize handwriting, and the like.

“Positional information” as used herein broadly encompasses absoluteposition, relative position, velocity, acceleration, and other types ofspatial information. Exemplary “zero-dimensional” positional informationincludes near/far or contact/no contact information. Exemplary“one-dimensional” positional information includes positions along anaxis. Exemplary “two-dimensional” positional information includesmotions in a plane. Exemplary “three-dimensional” positional informationincludes instantaneous or average velocities in space. Further examplesinclude other representations of spatial information. Historical dataregarding one or more types of positional information may also bedetermined and/or stored, including, for example, historical data thattracks position, motion, or instantaneous velocity over time.

In some embodiments, the input device 100 is implemented with additionalinput components that are operated by the processing system 110 or bysome other processing system. These additional input components mayprovide redundant functionality for input in the sensing region 120, orsome other functionality. FIG. 1 shows buttons 130 near the sensingregion 120 that can be used to facilitate selection of items using theinput device 100. Other types of additional input components includesliders, balls, wheels, switches, and the like. Conversely, in someembodiments, the input device 100 may be implemented with no other inputcomponents.

In some embodiments, the input device 100 comprises a touch screeninterface, and the sensing region 120 overlaps at least part of anactive area of a display screen. For example, the input device 100 maycomprise substantially transparent sensor electrodes overlaying thedisplay screen and provide a touch screen interface for the associatedelectronic system. The display screen may be any type of dynamic displaycapable of displaying a visual interface to a user, and may include anytype of light emitting diode (LED), organic LED (OLED), cathode ray tube(CRT), liquid crystal display (LCD), plasma, electroluminescence (EL),or other display technology. The input device 100 and the display screenmay share physical elements. For example, some embodiments may utilizesome of the same electrical components for displaying and sensing. Asanother example, the display screen may be operated in part or in totalby the processing system 110.

It should be understood that while many embodiments of the invention aredescribed in the context of a fully functioning apparatus, themechanisms of the present invention are capable of being distributed asa program product (e.g., software) in a variety of forms. For example,the mechanisms of the present invention may be implemented anddistributed as a software program on information bearing media that arereadable by electronic processors (e.g., non-transitorycomputer-readable and/or recordable/writable information bearing mediareadable by the processing system 110). Additionally, the embodiments ofthe present invention apply equally regardless of the particular type ofmedium used to carry out the distribution. Examples of non-transitory,electronically readable media include various discs, memory sticks,memory cards, memory modules, and the like. Electronically readablemedia may be based on flash, optical, magnetic, holographic, or anyother storage technology.

FIG. 2 is an input device 200 that modulates reference voltage rails forperforming capacitive sensing, according to one embodiment describedherein. The input device 200 includes a power supply 202, a host 204,the processing system 110, backlight 232, and display/sensing panel 234.In one embodiment, the power supply 202 is a DC power source thatoutputs at least two reference voltages—V_(DD) and V_(GND)—which providepower to the processing system 110, backlight 232, and display/sensingpanel 234. The power supply 202 may be a battery or a power converterthat is plugged into an external power source (e.g., an AC or DCelectrical grid). As used herein, the low reference voltage (i.e.,V_(GND)) is also referred to as chassis ground 208 to indicate it is thereference voltage for the input device 200. In contrast, other powerdomains in the input device 200 may include local ground references(e.g., local ground 216) which may be the same voltage as chassis ground208 or a different voltage. For example, as described below, at sometime periods, the local ground 216 may be the same voltage as thechassis ground 208 but at other time periods is modulated by beingdriven to different voltages.

In one embodiment, the host 204 represents a general system of the inputdevice 200 that performs any number of functions such as placing phonecalls, transmitting data wirelessly, executing an operating system orapplications, and the like. The host 204 includes a display source 206which provides updated data frames to the processing system 110. Forexample, the display source 206 may be a graphic processing unit (GPU)which transmits pixel or frame data to the processing system 110 inorder to update a display on the display/sensing panel 234. To providethe updated display data, display source 206 is coupled to theprocessing system 110 via a high-speed link 244 which may transmit dataat speeds greater than or equal to 1 Gbit per second at the full framerate. For example, the display source 206 may use DisplayPort™ (e.g.,eDP) or MIPI® display interfaces to communicate display data on thehigh-speed link 244. This interface may include a single pair (e.g.,differential) or multiple wire physical connections—e.g., a three wiresignaling, multiple links with a shared clock, embedded clock, threelevel signaling, etc.

The processing system 110 includes switches 210, 212, a timingcontroller 220, and a power management controller 230. The switches 210,212 selectively couple reference voltage rails 211A, 211B to the powersupply 202. Using control signal 218, the timing controller 220 can openand close the switches 210, 212 thereby electrically connecting anddisconnecting the reference voltage rails 211 to the power supply 202.Although shown as an ohmic connection, in other embodiments, thereference voltage rails 211 may be capacitively or inductively coupledto the power supply 202. In any case, the switches 210, 212 can be usedto disconnect the reference voltage rails 211 from the power supply 202while the modulation signal 228 may be used to modulate the voltagerails.

When the switches 210, 212 are closed, the power supply 202 charges abypass capacitor 214. When the switches 210, 212 are open, the chargestored on the bypass capacitor 214 can be used to power the referencevoltage rails 211 which are then used to power various components in theinput device 200 (e.g., power management controller 230, backlight 232,or panel 234). In one embodiment, the timing controller 220 mayperiodically open and close the switches 210, 212 using control signal218 to maintain a substantially constant, average voltage across thecapacitor 214 and the rails 211. Alternatively, a separate controllingelement (e.g., flyback inductor) may control the voltage across thecapacitor 214 while the timing controller 220 modulates the referencevoltage rails 211 using modulation signal 228.

The timing controller 220 includes a sensor module 222, display module224, and reference voltage modulator 226. The sensor module 222 iscoupled to the display/sensing panel 234, and more specifically, may becoupled to sensor electrodes 242 in the panel 234 directly or throughmodulation signal 228. Using the sensor electrodes 242, the sensormodule 222 performs capacitive sensing in the sensing region 120 shownFIG. 1 which may include the sensor electrodes 242. As discussed above,the sensor module 222 may use self-capacitance, mutual capacitance, or acombination of both to identify a particular location in the sensingregion 120 where an input object is contacting or hovering over.

The display module 224 is coupled to display circuitry 236 (e.g., sourcedrivers and gate selection logic) and display electrodes 240 (e.g.,source electrodes, gate electrodes, common electrodes) for updating adisplay in the panel 234. For example, based on the display datareceived from the display source 206, the display module 224 iteratesthrough the rows of the display using gate electrodes and updates eachof the display pixels in the selected row using source electrodes. Inthis manner, the display module 224 can receive updated display framesfrom the host 204 and update (or refresh) the individual pixels in thedisplay/sensing panel 234 accordingly.

The reference voltage modulator 226 outputs a modulation signal 228 thatmodulates the reference voltage rails 211. In one embodiment, thereference voltage modulator 226 only modulates the voltage rails 211when the rails 211 are disconnected from the power supply 202 (i.e., theswitches 210, 212 are open). Doing so allows the modulation signal 228to modulate the reference voltage rails 211 relative to the power supply202 outputs—i.e., V_(DD) and V_(GND). If the power supply 202 is notelectrically disconnected when the reference voltage rails 211 aremodulated, V_(DD) and V_(GND) may be shorted out by the modulationsignal 228 which may cause other components in the input device 200 thatrely on the power supplied by the power supply 202 to behaveunpredictably or improperly. For example, the host 204 (or othercomponents in the input device 200 not shown) may also use the powersupply 202 to power its components. The host 204 may be designed tooperate with unmodulated power supplies, and thus, if the modulationsignal 228 is not electrically isolated from power supply 202 themodulation signal 228 may have a negative effect on host 204.

In one embodiment, the modulation signal 228 modulates the referencevoltage rails by increasing or decreasing the voltages on these rails ina discrete quantified or periodic manner. In one example, the modulationsignal 228 causes the same or similar voltage change on both voltagerails 211A and 211B such that the voltage difference between the rails211 remains substantially constant. For example, if V_(DD) is 4V andV_(GND) is 0V, the modulation signal may add a 1V voltage swing on bothrails such that voltage rail 211A changes between 5 and 3V, whilevoltage rail 211B changes between −1 and 1V. Nonetheless, the voltagedifference between the rails 211 (i.e., 4V) remains the same. Moreover,the modulation signal 228 may be a periodic signal (e.g., a sine orsquare wave) or a non-periodic signal where the modulation is notperformed using a repetitive signal. In one embodiment, the capacitivesensing measurement is demodulated in a manner to match the modulationwaveform of the modulation signal 228.

By modulating the reference voltage rails 211 relative to chassisground, from the perspective of the processing system 110, it appears asif the outside world and the input objects coupled to the chassis havevoltage signals that is modulating. That is, to the powered systems inthe processing system 110, it appears its voltage is stable and the restof the world is modulating which includes any input object proximate tothe panel 234 and the other components in the input device 200 notcoupled to the modulated reference voltage rails 211. One advantage ofmodulating the reference voltage rails 211 is that all the componentscoupled to the rails 211 are modulated by the modulation signal 228.Thus, a separate modulation signal does not need to be driven on thedisplay electrodes 240, display circuitry 236, or power managementcontroller 230 in order to guard these electrodes so they do notinterfere with capacitive sensing. Put differently, the voltagedifference between the electrodes used to perform capacitive sensing andthe various components in the display panel 234 does not change. Thus,even if the electrodes and the components in the panel 234 arecapacitively coupled, this coupling capacitance does affect theresulting signal generated on the electrodes. Moreover, standardcomponents can be used—i.e., the display circuitry 236 and powermanagement controller 230 do not need to be modified to performguarding.

The power management controller 230 (e.g., one or more power managementintegrated circuits (PMICs)) provides the various voltages for poweringthe display circuitry 236 in the display/sensing panel 234 and thebacklight 232 via panel power supplies 231. The power managementcontroller 230 may include a plurality of different power supplies thatsupply various voltages (e.g., TFT gate voltages VGH, VHL, sourcevoltages, VCOM, etc.). To generate the various voltages, the powersupplies may be switched power supplies that use inductive boostcircuits or capacitive charge pumps to change the DC voltage provided bythe reference voltage rails 211 into DC voltage desired by the backlight232 or the circuitry in the panel 234. The power supplies may alsoinclude buck circuits which efficiently power low voltage digitalcircuits such as gigabit serial links.

In one embodiment, the reference voltage modulator 226 may modulate thevoltage rails 211 when the input device 200 is in a low-power state. Ina mobile device such as a smartphone with an LCD display, most of thepower consumed by the display system is consumed by the backlight 232,the display module 224, and the display circuitry 236. In one example,the backlight 232, when on, draws 1-3 W, while the display module 224and display circuitry 236 draw 0.5 to 1 W. In contrast, the sensormodule 222 may draw 50-150 mW when performing capacitive sensing. Thus,power consumption can be greatly reduced if both the backlight 232 anddisplay module 224 are deactivated when in the low power state. In oneembodiment, the backlight 232 and the display module 224 are not poweredwhile the reference voltage rails 211 are modulated.

However, when the sensor and display modules 222, 224 are located on thesame integrated circuit, it may be impossible to deactivate the displaymodule 224 using display control signals 233 and still performcapacitive sensing using sensor module 222 and sensor control signals235. In this example, if the input device relies on capacitive sensingperformed by the sensor module 222 to determine when to wake up from thelow-power state (i.e., determine when the user's finger approaches thepanel 234), the display module 224 must also be active, which means theinput device 200 does not benefit from the power savings of deactivatingthe display module 224. In contrast, input device 200 shown in FIG. 2can perform capacitive sensing without powering the isolated sensormodule 222 when in the low power state and thus benefit from the powersavings of being able to deactivate both the sensor module 222 and thedisplay module 224. Thus, in the low-power state, the sensor module 222,display module 224, power management controller 230, backlight 232, andthe display sensing circuitry 236 can each be deactivated.

To perform capacitive sensing in the low-power state when the sensormodule 222 is deactivated, in one embodiment, the reference voltagemodulator 226 may include circuitry for acquiring signals—i.e.,resulting signals—from the display and sensor electrodes 240, 242resulting from modulating at least one of the voltage rails 211. To doso, the reference voltage modulator 226 includes a separate receiver(not shown in FIG. 2 ) for measuring the resulting signals. In addition,the reference voltage modulator 226 may have other circuitry such as afilter (analog or digital) and an analog to digital converter (ADC) forsampling the resulting signals. Based on measuring changes in a couplingcapacitance 246 between an input object 140 and the display/sensingpanel 234, the input device 200 can detect the proximity of an inputobject near or contacting the panel 234. In one embodiment, theresulting signals are acquired from both display electrodes 240 andsensor electrodes 242 simultaneously. The display and sensor electrodes240, 242 may be coupled by the panel 234 to the reference voltage rails211. For example, the display and sensor electrodes 240, 242 are coupledto the power management controller 230 which provides power for displayupdating (e.g., gate line voltage, Vcom voltage, source voltage) andcapacitive sensing (e.g., voltages to power receivers coupled toindividual sensor electrodes 242). In turn, the power managementcontroller 230 receives its power via the reference voltage rails 211.Thus, the display and sensor electrodes 240, 242 (as well as othercomponents in the panel 234) are coupled to a common electrical node asthe reference voltage modulator 226 (i.e., the same electrical nodewhere the modulation signal 228 couples to the voltage rail 211B). Thus,when modulating the reference voltages 211, this modulates the powersupplies in the power management controller 230 which in turn modulatesthe various components in the panel 234—e.g., the display and sensorelectrodes 240, 242—allowing the input device 200 to measure userinputs.

Because the reference voltage modulator 226 is also coupled to thiscommon node, the reference voltage modulator 226 may acquire theresulting signals from the display and sensor electrodes 240, 242simultaneously when modulating the reference voltage rails 211. Putdifferently, the reference voltage modulator 226 does not need toseparately acquire resulting signals from the various electrodes in thepanel 234 at different time periods, but rather acquires the combinedresulting signals from all the coupled electrodes in parallel. Byacquiring the resulting signals simultaneously, the panel 234 may beconsidered as a single large capacitive pixel or electrode. As an inputobject approaches any portion or location in the panel 234, the displayand sensor electrodes 240, 242 in that portion generate resultingsignals that indicate a change in capacitance (e.g., self-capacitance)caused by the proximity of the input object. Thus, in one embodiment, byevaluating the resulting signals acquired by the reference voltagemodulator 226, the input device 200 can determine whether an inputobject is proximate to the panel 234. However, because the panel is onecapacitive electrode (rather than a plurality of separate capacitiveelectrodes or pixels) the device 200 may be unable to identify aspecific portion or location in the panel 234 where the input object islocated.

In one embodiment, instead of using both display and sensor electrodes240, 242 for performing capacitive sensing when modulating the referencevoltage rails 211, the reference voltage modulator 226 may acquireresulting signals from only the display electrodes 240 or only thesensor electrodes 242. As long as the electrodes coupled to thereference voltage modulator 226 substantially cover the entire region ofthe panel 234, the input device 200 can detect an input objectregardless of the particular location of the object in the panel 234.

Once an input object is detected, the input device 200 may switch fromthe low power state to an active state where modulated signals arereceived during a display update time. For example, the input device 200may activate the sensor module 222 to perform a different capacitivesensing technique. Unlike the capacitive sensing performed using thereference voltage modulator 226, this capacitive sensing technique maylogically divide a sensing region of the panel 234 into a plurality ofcapacitive pixels. By determining which capacitive pixel (or pixels)have an associated capacitance changed by the input object, the inputdevice can determine a specific location or region of the panel 234where the input object is contacting or hovering over. As mentionedabove, the sensor module 222 may use self-capacitance sensing, mutualcapacitance sensing, or some combination thereof to identify thelocation of the input object in the sensing region.

In one embodiment, the reference voltage rails 211 are always isolated(e.g., inductively or capacitively) from the power supply 202, and thus,need to be selectively disconnected from the power supply 202 beforebeing modulated as described above. Instead, the processing system 110and display/sensing panel 234 may have a separate, individual powersupply (e.g., a separate battery or charged capacitor inductivelycoupled to a power) coupled to the reference voltage rails 211 that onlypowers these components. As such, the reference voltage modulator 226can modulate these voltage rails 211 for capacitive sensing withouthaving to ensure that modulating the voltage rails 211 does not have anegative impact on other components in the input device 200—e.g., wherelevel translation or isolation at communication interfaces is important.

The components in the processing system 110 may be arranged in manydifferent configurations on one or more integrated circuits (chips). Inone embodiment, the sensor module 222, display module 224, and referencevoltage modulator 226 may be disposed on the same integrated circuit. Inone embodiment, the sensor module 222 may be disposed on a differentintegrated circuit than the reference voltage modulator 226. In anotherembodiment, the sensor module 222, display module 224, and the referencevoltage modulator 226 may be disposed on three separate integratedcircuits. In another embodiment, the sensor module 222 and the referencevoltage modulator 226 are disposed on the same integrated circuit whilethe display module 224 is disposed on a separate integrated circuit.Furthermore, in one embodiment, the display module is disposed on oneintegrated circuit while the sensor module 222 and at least a portion ofthe display circuitry 236 (e.g., a source driver, mux, or TFT gatedriver) are disposed on a second integrated circuit, and the referencevoltage modulator 226 is disposed on a third integrated circuit.

In one embodiment, the processing system 110 includes an integratedcircuit that includes the power management controller 230, timingcontroller 220, and high speed link 244 for coupling to the host 204.The integrated circuit may also include sources drivers and receiversfor performing display updating and capacitive sensing. Furthermore,this integrated circuit may be disposed on a same substrate thatsupports the display/sensing panel 234 rather than being located ondifferent substrates. The common substrate may include traces thatcouple the integrated circuit to the display and sensor electrodes 240,242.

Moreover, in some displays (e.g., LED or OLED) a backlight may not beneeded. The reference voltage rail modulation techniques discussed abovemay nonetheless be used to perform capacitive sensing.

FIG. 3 is an input device 300 that modulates reference voltage rails forperforming capacitive sensing, according to one embodiment describedherein. The input device 300 includes a voltage regulator 315 forcontrolling and maintaining the rail voltages V_(DD) and V_(GND)provided by the power supply (not shown). In one embodiment, the voltageregulator 315 may be replaced by a battery and/or the power managementcontroller 230 may isolate a modulated power domain 310 from anunmodulated power domain 305. Like in input device 200, device 300includes the timing controller 220 which outputs control signals 330A,330B for controlling switches 210, 212 (i.e., transistors). As above,before modulating the reference voltage rails 211 (V_(DD_MOD) andV_(GND_MOD)), the timing controller 220 opens the switches 210, 212 toelectrically disconnect the reference voltage rails 211 from thereference voltages V_(DD) and V_(GND).

When the reference voltage rails 211 are electrically isolated from thereference voltages V_(DD) and V_(GND), the input device 300 has twoseparate power domains—i.e., an unmodulated power domain 305 and amodulated power domain 310. The unmodulated power domain 305 includesthe components to the left of the dotted line 301, while the modulatedpower domain 310 includes the components to the right of the dotted line301. The components in the unmodulated power domain 305 operate usingthe unmodulated, DC reference voltages V_(DD) and V_(GND), while thecomponents in the modulated power domain 310 operate using the modulatedreference voltages V_(DD_MOD) and V_(GND_MOD) on the reference voltagerails 211. As above, the reference voltage rails 211 are modulated bythe modulation signal 228 generated by the reference voltage modulator226. For example, the modulation signal 228 may be driven to a voltagesmaller than V_(DD)/2 which may be an input voltage for the receiver325. In one embodiment, the reference voltage modulator 226 may belocated in the power management controller 230 or a source driverinstead of in the timing controller 220 as shown.

As shown, the timing controller 220 includes a high-speed data interface320 (e.g., an eDP or MIPI standard interface) which is in theunmodulated power domain 305. As such, at least one of the modules inthe timing controller 220 is in the unmodulated power domain 305 whileat least one of the modules is in the modulated power domain 310.Although not shown, the sensor module and display module may also be inthe modulated power domain 310. Furthermore, although the referencevoltage modulator 226 is shown as being in the modulated power domain310, it may also be considered as being in the unmodulated power domain305 since the reference voltage modulator 226 may generate themodulation signal 228 relative to chassis ground which is in theunmodulated power domain 305. The communication module may furtherprovide modulation signals 228 and power domain isolation controls 330.

By leaving the high-speed data interface 320 in the unmodulated powerdomain 305, the timing controller 220 can directly communicate to thehost 204. That is, because the data interface 320 and the host 204 areboth in the unmodulated power domain 305, they may be able to transmitdata signals directly. In contrast, if the interface 320 were in themodulated power domain 310 and was using the modulated referencevoltages to operate, the interface 320 may be unable to detect andidentify the data signals received from the host 204 withoutsubstantially increasing in cost, power, and design time. Although notshown, the timing controller 220 may include level shifters frompermitting the high-speed data interface 320 to communicate with othermodules in the timing controller 220. For example, when receiving updatedisplay data from the host 204, the high-speed data interface 320 mayuse the level shifters when transmitting the display data to the displaymodule within the modulated power domain 310.

In another embodiment, the whole timing controller 220 may be in themodulated power domain 310. To communicate with the host 204, a separatecommunication module may be communicatively coupled between the host 204and the controller 220. For example, the communication module may belocated on a separate integrated circuit than the timing controller 220.The communication module may include one or more level shifters thattransmit data signals to the timing controller 220 in the modulatedpower domain 310 and permit data signals received from the timingcontroller 220 to be transmitted to the host 204 in the unmodulatedpower domain 305.

The reference voltage modulator 226 includes a receiver 325 whichacquires the resulting signals from the display and sensor electrodes inthe panel 234 when modulating the reference voltage rails 211. Thereceiver 325 may use the same electrical connection used by themodulation signal 228 to modulate the rails 211 to also acquire theresulting signals. That is, the reference voltage modulator 226 may usethe same port to both transmit the modulation signal 228 and acquire theresulting signals from the display and sensor electrodes in the indisplay/sensing panel 234. Alternatively, reference voltage modulator226 may use the display/sensing panel 234 only to receive the signalswhile the modulation signal 228 is supplied to the reference electrodeby another component (e.g., a source driver or the power managementcontroller 230).

In input device 300, the power management controller 230 includesmultiple power supplies 335 which output multiple different DC voltagesto the panel 234 via the links 340. To generate the various voltages,the power supplies 335 may be switched power supplies that use inductiveboost circuits or capacitive charge pumps to change the voltagesprovided by the reference voltage rails 211 (i.e., V_(DD_MOD) andV_(GND_MOD)) to voltages required by the components in the panel234—e.g., V_(GH), V_(GL), VCOM, etc. In one embodiment, when thereference voltage modulator 226 modulates the reference voltage rails211, the power management controller 230 may deactivate the powersupplies 335 (e.g., the input device is in a low-power state). However,when the input device 300 performs display updating or capacitivesensing when the voltage rails 211 are not being modulated, the powersupplies 335 may be active to provide DC power to the panel 234.

FIG. 4 is an input device 400 that modulates reference voltage rails forperforming capacitive sensing, according to one embodiment describedherein. In contrast to input device 300 in FIG. 3 , input device 400includes a reference voltage modulator 410 that does not acquire theresulting signals when modulating at least one of the voltage rails 211.As shown, the reference voltage modulator 410 includes a transmitter 415for generating the modulation signal 228 and is disposed in the powermanagement controller 230. However, the receiver 325 is not located inthe modulator 410. Instead the receiver 325 is located outside themodulator 410 in the timing controller 220 (but could also be locatedelsewhere in the processing system 110 such as on a separate integratedcircuit). Thus, in this embodiment, the electrical path used to acquirethe resulting signals is different than the electrical path used todrive the modulation signal 228. Further, as shown here, a direct ohmicconnection between receiver 325 and the modulated rail 211 is notrequired where capacitive signals are provided by, e.g., capacitor 405.Thus, FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate that the resulting signals can beacquired via either one of the voltage rails 211. In one embodiment, thereceiver 325 is in the lowest impedance path for the modulation signal228 to couple to the electrodes in the display/sensing panel 234. In oneembodiment, the transmitter 415 also drives the modulation signal 228onto the reference voltage rails 211 using the power managementcontroller's connection to the reference voltage rails 211.

As shown, a capacitor 405 is located in the electrical path coupling thereceiver 325 to the voltage rail 211A, although the capacitor 405 isoptional. The receiver 325 may measure the charge accumulated (or thevoltage) on the capacitor 405 when the transmitter 415 modulates thereference voltage rails 211 in order to determine when an input objectis proximate to the display/sensing panel 234.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of the reference voltage modulator 226 shownin FIG. 3 , according to one embodiment described herein. The referencevoltage modulator 226 includes an integrator 500 which outputs themodulation signal 228. Moreover, because the integrator 500 serves as areceiver, the reference voltage modulator 226 also acquires theresulting signals from the display and sensor electrodes at the outputof the integrator 500. One input of an amplifier in the integrator 500is coupled to a signal generator 515 which outputs a modulated signalthat the integrator 500 then uses to drive the modulation signal 228through feedback from the sensor output. For example, the integrationfunction may be performed by a capacitor 525, for example, in a low passfilter such that offset drift is compensated—e.g., by a reset switch oran optional resistor 520.

Describing the function of the reference voltage modulator 226generally, the integrator 500 measures the amount of charge (using theresulting signals) that the amplifier has to provide through capacitor525 in order to modulate the display and sensor electrodes in thedisplay panel by modulating reference voltage rails. Although not shown,the receiver 325 may be coupled to a filter and a sampling circuit—e.g.,an ADC—for processing the resulting signals. Moreover, FIG. 5illustrates only one example of a suitable structure for a referencevoltage modulator 226 and receiver. Stated generally, the referencevoltage modulator 226 can be any type of transmitter circuitry thatdrives a modulation signal 228 and any type of analog circuitry forreceiving a measurement of capacitance or a change in capacitance in acircuit. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 4 , the receiver 325 may beseparate from the reference voltage modulator. For example, thereference voltage modulator may include only a modulator that drives themodulation signal 228, while the receiver may be located elsewhere inthe processing system (e.g., a separate integrated circuit, in the powermanagement controller, etc.).

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 600 for waking up aninput device from a low power state using modulated reference voltagerails, according to one embodiment described herein. At block 605, thetiming controller electrically isolates the reference voltage rails froma power source either by selectively disconnecting the rails or using anindirect coupling method such as inductively coupling. For example, thepower source may be a battery that provides DC voltage outputs (e.g.,V_(DD) and V_(GND)) to power the various components in the input device.Because the function of some components may be negatively affected bymodulating the outputs of the power source, the timing controllerelectrically isolates the reference voltage rails from the battery.Alternatively, when updating a display of the input device or performingcapacitive sensing that does not modulate the reference voltage rails,the timing controller may permit the reference voltage rails to beelectrically connected to the power source. During these time periods,the power source may directly drive unmodulated, DC voltages onto thevoltage rails. In some embodiments, the power may be providedconsistently (e.g., the voltage rails are inductively coupled to thepower supplies) even while the voltage rails are modulated, floated, orheld at a relatively constant voltage relative to chassis ground.

At block 610, the input device configures the input device in alow-power state. In one embodiment, the input device may determine toenter the low-power state after identifying a period of inactivity wherethe user has failed to interact with the input device. For example, ifthe user does not use a function of the input device within a predefinedtime period (e.g., touch the sensing region, place a phone call, hit abutton, etc.), the input device may switch to the low-power state. Inanother example, the user may instruct the input device to enter in thelow-power state by making a predefined gesture in the sensing region oractivating a particular button.

In the low-power state, the input device deactivates one or morecomponents in the input device to conserve power (e.g., power supplies,PMICs, backlight, etc.). As shown in FIG. 2 , because the referencevoltage modulator 226 acquires the resulting signals for performingcapacitive sensing, the sensor module 222 and corresponding capacitivesensing circuitry (if any) in the display/sensing panel 234 may bedeactivated. Similarly, if the low-power state does not need to displayan image, the display module 224 and display circuitry 236 can bedeactivated. Furthermore, the input device can effectively deactivatethe components in the display/sensing panel 234 by deactivate the powermanagement controller 230 which stops providing power to the panel 234.Further, deactivating the power management controller 230 may turn offthe backlight 232. In one embodiment, the low-power state means that atleast the sensor module 222, display module 224, power managementcontroller 230, and all the powered components in the display/sensingpanel 234 are deactivated. However, in other embodiments, some of thesecomponents may remain powered in the low-power state.

At block 615, a reference voltage modulator modulates reference voltagerails relative to the chassis ground of the input device. At block 620,while modulating the voltage rails, a receiver acquires resultingsignals from display and sensor electrodes in the panel simultaneously.To do so, the receiver may be coupled to the display and sensorelectrodes in the panel at a common electrical node—e.g., a supplyvoltage. Using the resulting signals, the receiver (or other componentin the input device) determines a capacitance or change in capacitancecorresponding to the display and sensor electrodes. By comparing thiscapacitance measurement to one or more thresholds, the input device candetect when an input object is proximate to the panel.

Although the receiver may be integrated into the reference voltagemodulator which generates the signal for modulating the referencevoltage rails, the receiver may be located anywhere on the processingsystem that permits it to couple to the display and/or sensor electrodesin the panel. For example, the receiver may be located at a differentlocation in a timing controller than the reference voltage modulator oron a separate integrated circuit altogether. Furthermore, the receivermay be located on the power management controller. In one embodiment,regardless of its location, the receiver is coupled to one (or both) ofthe reference voltage rails being modulated.

At block 625, the input device determines if an input object isproximate to the display/sensing panel by evaluating the resultingsignals acquired at block 620. If an input object is not proximate tothe input device (e.g., not contacting the panel or hovering over thepanel), method 600 proceeds to 620 where the receiver again acquires theresulting signals while the voltage rails are modulated. For example,when in the low-power state the input device may, at intervals, modulatethe reference voltage rails and acquire the resulting signal until aninput object is detected. The duty cycle of these low power cycle may below—e.g., greater than 10 ms—but fast enough to track environmentalchanges—e.g., faster than 100 seconds.

If an input object is detected at block 625, method 600 proceeds toblock 630 where the input device switches to an active state. In oneembodiment, when switching from the low-power state to the active state,at least one component that was deactivated or powered down in thelow-power state is activated. For example, the input device may activatethe sensor module and capacitive sensing circuitry on the panel toperform capacitive sensing to determine a specific location of the inputobject in the panel. Alternatively or additionally, the input device mayactivate the display module and display circuitry (and the backlight) sothat an image is displayed. In some low power modes, modulation of thereference voltage is not required where interference is being detectedor detecting the presence of an active pen. For example, the duty cyclewhen performing interference or active pen detection, the duty cyclesmay be slow (e.g., less than 100 ms).

In one embodiment, when in the activate state, some of the components inthe input device may still be deactivated. For example, at block 630,the input device may activate only the components necessary to performcapacitive sensing to determine the location of the input object in thepanel. The display components (e.g., the backlight or display module)may still be deactivated. For instance, when in the active state theinput device may use the sensor module to ensure that the input objectdetected at block 625 was not a false positive before activating thedisplay components. In another example, the reference voltage modulatorcan detect when input object approaches (e.g., hovers over) the displaywhich then causes the input device to switch to the active state atblock 630. However, before activating the display components, the inputdevice may use the sensor module to determine if the user made apredefined wake-up gesture using the input object. Thus, although notshown in method 600, the active state may be an intermediary power statethat draws more power than the low-power state but draws less power thana fully active state where, for example, both display updating andcapacitive sensing are performed.

FIG. 7 illustrate an exemplary electrode arrangement for performingcapacitive sensing, according to one embodiment described herein. FIG. 7shows a portion of an example sensor electrode pattern comprising sensorelectrodes 710 configured to sense in a sensing region associated withthe pattern, according to some embodiments. For clarity of illustrationand description, FIG. 7 shows a pattern of simple rectangles, and doesnot show various components. Further, as illustrated the sensorelectrodes 710 comprise a first plurality of sensor electrodes 720, anda second plurality of sensor electrodes 730.

In one embodiment, the sensor electrodes 710 may be arranged ondifferent sides of the same substrate. For example, each of the firstand second plurality of sensor electrode(s) 720, 730 may be disposed onone of the surfaces of the substrate. In other embodiments, the sensorelectrodes 710 may be arranged on different substrates. For example,each of the first and each of the second plurality of sensorelectrode(s) 720, 730 may be disposed on surfaces of separate substrateswhich may be adhered together. In another embodiment, the sensorelectrodes 710 are all located on the same side or surface of a commonsubstrate. In one example, a first plurality of the sensor electrodescomprise jumpers in regions where the first plurality of sensorelectrodes crossover the second plurality of sensor electrodes, wherethe jumpers are insulated from the second plurality of sensorelectrodes.

The first plurality of sensor electrodes 720 may extend in a firstdirection, and the second plurality of sensor electrodes 730 may extendin a second direction. The second direction may be similar to ordifferent from the first direction. For example, the second directionmay be parallel with, perpendicular to, or diagonal to the firstdirection. Further, the sensor electrodes 710 may each be of the samesize or shape or differing size and shapes. In one embodiment, the firstplurality of sensor electrodes may be larger (larger surface area) thanthe second plurality of sensor electrodes. In other embodiments, thefirst plurality and second plurality of sensor electrodes may have asimilar size and/or shape. Thus, the size and/or shape of the one ormore of the sensor electrodes 710 may be different than the size and/orshape of another one or more of the sensor electrodes 710. Nonetheless,each of the sensor electrodes 710 may be formed into any desired shapeon their respective substrates.

In other embodiments, one or more of sensor electrodes 710 are disposedon the same side or surface of the common substrate and are isolatedfrom each other in the sensing region. The sensor electrodes 720 may bedisposed in a matrix array where each sensor electrode may be referredto as a matrix sensor electrode. Each sensor electrode of sensorelectrodes 710 in the matrix array may be substantially similar sizeand/or shape. In one embodiment, one or more of sensor electrodes of thematrix array of sensor electrodes 710 may vary in at least one of sizeand shape. Each sensor electrode of the matrix array may correspond to apixel of a capacitive image. Further, two or more sensor electrodes ofthe matrix array may correspond to a pixel of a capacitive image. Invarious embodiments, each sensor electrode of the matrix array may becoupled a separate capacitive routing trace of a plurality of capacitiverouting traces. In various embodiments, the sensor electrodes 710comprises one or more grid electrodes disposed between at least twosensor electrodes of sensor electrodes 710. The grid electrode and atleast one sensor electrode may be disposed on a common side of asubstrate, different sides of a common substrate and/or on differentsubstrates. In one or more embodiments, the sensor electrodes 710 thegrid electrode(s) may encompass an entire voltage electrode of a displaydevice. Although the sensor electrodes 710 may be electrically isolatedon the substrate, the electrodes may be coupled together outside of thesensing region—e.g., in a connection region. In one embodiment, afloating electrode may be disposed between the grid electrode and thesensor electrodes. In one particular embodiment, the floating electrode,the grid electrode and the sensor electrode comprise the entirety of acommon electrode of a display device.

Processing system 110 shown in FIG. 1 may be configured to drive one ormore sensor electrode of the sensor electrodes 710 with modulatedsignals (i.e., absolute capacitive sensing signals) to determine changesin absolute capacitance of the sensor electrodes 710. In someembodiments, processing system 110 is configured to drive a transmittersignal onto a first one of the sensor electrodes 710 and receive aresulting signal with a second one of the sensor electrodes 710. Thetransmitter signal(s) and absolute capacitive sensing signal(s) may besimilar in at least one of shape, amplitude, frequency and phase.Processing system 110 may be configured to drive a grid electrode with ashield signal to operate the grid electrode as a shield and/or guardelectrode. Further, processing system 110 may be configured to drive thegrid electrode with a transmitter signal such that the capacitivecoupling between the grid electrode and one or more sensor electrodesmay be determined, or with an absolute capacitive sensing signal suchthat the absolute capacitance of the grid electrode may be determined.

As used herein, a shield signal refers to a signal having one of aconstant voltage or a varying voltage signal (guard signal). The guardsignal may be substantially similar in at least one of amplitude andphase to a signal modulating a sensor electrode. Further, in variousembodiments, the guard signal may have an amplitude that is larger thanor less than that of the signal modulating a sensor electrode. In someembodiments, the guard signal may have a phase that is different fromthe signal modulating the sensor electrode. Electrically floating anelectrode can be interpreted as a form of guarding in cases where, byfloating, the second electrode receives the desired guarding waveformvia capacitive coupling from a nearby driven sensor electrode of theinput device 100.

As is discussed above, in any of the sensor electrode arrangementsdiscussed above, the sensor electrodes 710 may be formed on a substratethat is external to or internal to the display device. For example, thesensor electrodes 710 may be disposed on the outer surface of a lens inthe input device 100. In other embodiments, the sensor electrodes 710are disposed between the color filter glass of the display device andthe lens of the input device. In other embodiments, at least a portionof the sensor electrodes and/or grid electrode(s) may be disposed suchthat they are between a Thin Film Transistor substrate (TFT substrate)and the color filter glass of the display device 160. In one embodiment,a first plurality of sensor electrodes are disposed between the TFTsubstrate and color filter glass of the display device 160 and thesecond plurality of sensor electrodes are disposed between the colorfilter glass and the lens of the input device 100. In yet otherembodiments, all of sensor electrodes 710 are disposed between the TFTsubstrate and color filter glass of the display device, where the sensorelectrodes may be disposed on the same substrate or on differentsubstrates as described above.

In any of the sensor electrode arrangements described above, the sensorelectrodes 710 may be operated by the input device 100 fortranscapacitive sensing by dividing the sensor electrodes 710 intotransmitter and receiver electrodes or for absolute capacitive sensing,or some mixture of both. Further, one or more of the sensor electrodes710 or the display electrodes (e.g., source, gate, or reference (Vcom)electrodes) may be used to perform shielding.

The areas of localized capacitive coupling between first plurality ofsensor electrodes 720 and second plurality of sensor electrodes 730 formcapacitive pixels. The capacitive coupling between the first pluralityof sensor electrodes 720 and second plurality of sensor electrodes 730changes with the proximity and motion of input objects in the sensingregion associated with the first plurality of sensor electrodes 720 andsecond plurality of sensor electrodes 730. Further, the areas oflocalized capacitance between the first plurality of sensor electrodes720 and an input object and/or the second plurality of sensor electrodes730 and an input object may also form capacitive pixels. As such, theabsolute capacitance of the first plurality of sensor electrodes 720and/or the second plurality of sensor electrodes changes with theproximity and motion of an input object in the sensing region associatedwith the first plurality of sensor electrodes 720 and second pluralityof sensor electrodes 730.

In some embodiments, the sensor pattern is “scanned” to determine thesecapacitive couplings. That is, in one embodiment, the first plurality ofsensor electrodes 720 are driven by, for example, sensor module 222 inFIG. 2 to transmit transmitter signals. Transmitters may be operatedsuch that one transmitter electrode transmits at one time, or multipletransmitter electrodes transmit at the same time. Where multipletransmitter electrodes transmit simultaneously, these multipletransmitter electrodes may transmit the same transmitter signal andeffectively produce an effectively larger transmitter electrode, orthese multiple transmitter electrodes may transmit different transmittersignals. For example, multiple transmitter electrodes may transmitdifferent transmitter signals according to one or more coding schemesthat enable their combined effects on the resulting signals of secondplurality of sensors.

The receiver sensor electrodes may be operated singly or multiply toacquire resulting signals. The resulting signals may be used todetermine measurements of the capacitive couplings at the capacitivepixels. The receive electrodes may also be scaled (e.g., by amultiplexer) to a reduced number of capacitive measurement inputs forreceiving the signals.

In other embodiments, scanning the sensor pattern comprises driving oneor more sensor electrode of the first and/or second plurality of sensorelectrodes with absolute sensing signals while receiving resultingsignals with the one or more sensor electrodes. The sensor electrodesmay be operated such that one electrode is being driven and receiving atone time, or multiple sensor electrodes are being driven and receivingat the same time. The resulting signals may be used to determinemeasurements of the capacitive couplings at the capacitive pixels oralong each sensor electrode.

A set of measurements from the capacitive pixels form a “capacitiveframe”. The capacitive frame may comprise a “capacitive image”representative of the capacitive couplings at the pixels and/or or a“capacitive profile” representative of the capacitive couplings or alongeach sensor electrode. Multiple capacitive frames may be acquired overmultiple time periods, and differences between them used to deriveinformation about input in the sensing region. For example, successivecapacitive frames acquired over successive periods of time can be usedto track the motion(s) of one or more input objects entering, exiting,and within the sensing region.

The background capacitance of a sensor device is the capacitive frameassociated with no input object in the sensing region. The backgroundcapacitance changes with the environment and operating conditions, andmay be estimated in various ways. For example, some embodiments take“baseline frames” when no input object is determined to be in thesensing region, and use those baseline frames as estimates of theirbackground capacitances.

Capacitive frames can be adjusted for the background capacitance of thesensor device for more efficient processing. Some embodiments accomplishthis by “baselining” measurements of the capacitive couplings at thecapacitive pixels to produce a “baselined capacitive frames.” That is,some embodiments compare the measurements forming a capacitance frameswith appropriate “baseline values” of a “baseline frames”, and determinechanges from that baseline image. These baseline images may also be usedin the low power modes discussed above for profile sensing or activelymodulated active pens.

Interference and Active Pen Detection

FIG. 8 is an input device 800 that detects a noise (i.e., interference)signal or a communication signal from an active input object, accordingto one embodiment described herein. Input device 800 has a similarstructure as input device 300 in FIG. 3 , and indeed, an individualinput device may be able to perform the reference voltage modulationdiscussed in FIG. 3 as well as the interference and active input objectdetection. However, in other embodiments, an input device may beconfigured to perform only one of these functions. In one embodiment,the active object is actively modulated relative to chassis ground witha known or configurable frequency, duty cycle, timed encoding, etc.

The timing controller 805 in input device 800 includes a centralreceiver 810 coupled to the low reference voltage rail 211B. Like thereceiver 325 in FIG. 3 , central receiver 810 is coupled with thedisplay and sensor electrodes in the display/sensing panel 234 via thepower supplies in the power management controller 230. In oneembodiment, the central receiver 810 may be directly coupled to somecomponents in the display/sensing panel 234 since the voltage rails 211may also directly couple to the panel 234, but is indirectly coupled toother components in the panel 234 via the power supplies in thecontroller 230. In either case, all the electrodes (and possibly othercomponents in the panel 234) are coupled to a common electrical nodewith the central receiver 810, and thus, the panel 234 can function as asingle capacitive pixel.

However, the central receiver 810 does not need to be coupled to all ofthe display and sensor electrodes in the panel 234 but instead could becoupled to only the display electrodes or only the sensor electrodes.However, by limiting the number of electrodes coupled with the centralreceiver 810 (e.g., to a single source driver), the size of a sensingregion in the panel 234 (or a sensitivity of the capacitive pixel) maybe decreased so that a fraction of the panel is measured even ifelectrodes across the panel are scanned.

Unlike the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 , to detect interference or acommunication signal from an active input object (e.g., a stylus or penwhich has a wireless transmitter), the input device 800 does notmodulate the reference voltage rails 211. Instead, the rails 211 mayremain unmodulated, DC voltages relative to chassis ground. However,like in FIG. 3 , the timing controller 805 may electrically disconnectthe voltage rails 211 from the power source voltages V_(DD) and V_(GND)before detecting interference or a communication signal. Using signals330A, 330B, the timing controller 805 opens the switches 210, 212thereby disconnecting the voltage rails 211 from the power sourcevoltages. Alternatively, the reference voltage rails 211 may beinductively coupled to the power source voltages in which case the rails211 are always isolated from these voltages.

If a noise source or an active input object is proximate to theelectrodes on the panel 234, the interference signal generated by thenoise source or the digital communication signal generated by the inputobject generate resulting signals on the display and sensor electrodesin the panel 234 which are then acquired by the central receiver 810. Byprocessing the resulting signals, the input device 800 can identify theinterference signal and compensate for it. Some non-limiting examples ofactions the input device 800 may take to compensate for interferencesignals include switching to a different sensing frequency, limiting thenumber of input objects being report, cease using some features such asproximity detection or glove detection, increasing the number of framesthat are averaged before detecting a touch location, ignoring any newinput objects that are detected when interference occurs, preventing asensor module from reporting that an input object has left the sensingregion, or changing the capacitive frame rate.

If the resulting signals are caused by an active input object, the inputdevice 800 can decode the digital signal and perform a correspondingaction. If the active input object transmits the communication signalusing a wireless transmitter, the display and sensor electrodes on thepanel 234 serve as antennas for receiving the signal. Thus, neither thenoise source nor the active input object needs to be contacting thepanel 234 in order to generate the resulting signals on the electrodesin the panel 234—e.g., the input object may be hovering over the panel234.

Moreover, the display/sensing panel 234 includes multiple localreceivers 815 which each may be coupled to a respective sensor electrodein the panel 234. When performing capacitive sensing, the localreceivers 815 measure resulting signals from the respective sensorelectrodes which can be used to identify a particular location in thepanel 234 an input object is contacting or hovering over. In oneembodiment, the local receivers 815 may perform a similar function asreceiver 810—i.e., both receivers 810, 815 measure capacitance. In oneembodiment, instead of using central receiver 810 to detect aninterference signal or a communication signal from an active inputobject, an input device could combine all the resulting signals receivedby the local receivers 815 on the panel 234. However, detectinginterference signals and communication signals may require more power,or circuitry that is more complex or expensive than circuitry requiredonly to perform capacitive sensing using receiver 810. As such, if thelocal receivers 815 were used to detect the interference orcommunication signals, they may be more expensive than local receivers815 used to only perform capacitive sensing using a modulated signal.Thus, instead of having multiple receivers 815 that are expensive, inputdevice 800 may use only one central receiver 810 which can be used todetect the interference and communication signals. Central receiver 810may have a greater dynamic range, a faster ADC, and/or be more noisetolerant than the local receivers 815 which results in the localreceivers 815 being cheaper to manufacture than central receiver 810.Thus, in one embodiment, instead of having tens or hundreds or expensivelocal receivers 815 capable of identifying interference andcommunication signals from an active input object, the input device 800has only one—i.e., central receiver 810. Because local receivers 815 maynot be used to detect interference or the communication signals, theycan be cheaper than would otherwise be possible.

In one embodiment, the interference or communication signals can bemeasured while the display is updated. That is, the timing controllermay include a display module that is actively updating pixels in thedisplay/sensing panel 234 while the central receiver 810 is acquiringsignals as described above. Even though the power management controller230 and panel 234 are selectively disconnected (or isolated) from thepower source voltages V_(DD) and V_(GND), the charge stored in thebypass capacitor 214 can be used to power the voltage rails 211 andpermit display updating to occur. When the charge across the capacitor214 drops to a threshold, the timing controller 805 may reconnect thevoltage rails 211 and the capacitor to the power source voltages V_(DD)and V_(GND) or otherwise coupled (e.g., inductively couple) the powersource voltages to the rails 211. Moreover, the central receiver 810 maycease measuring the interference or communication signals when thevoltage rails 211 are ohmically coupled to the power source voltagesV_(DD) and V_(GND). However, the capacitor 214 (e.g., 15-150microfarads) may store enough charge to power the power managementcontroller 230 and panel 234 for enough time to permit the centralreceiver 810 to identify an interference signal generated by a noise ora communication signal provided by an active pen or stylus.

FIG. 9 is circuit diagram of the central receiver 810 for acquiringresulting signals to identify the noise or communication signal,according to one embodiment described herein. The central receiver 810includes an integrator 900 for acquiring the resulting signals from thedisplay and sensor electrodes similar to integrator 500. The integrator900 may be implemented as a low pass filter with a feedback capacitor925 and optional resistor 920 when the feedback signal is measured andcontrols a reference voltage on one of the rail 211. As shown, one inputof an amplifier in the integrator 900 is coupled to V_(GND) (e.g.,chassis ground or V_(DD)/2). In one embodiment, the central receiver 810is the lowest impedance path between the noise source or active pen andchassis ground. As such, the resulting signals caused by theinterference signals generated by the noise source or the communicationsignal generated by the input object flow through the central receiver810, and thus, are measured by the central receiver 810 rather thanflowing through another component in the input device. Stateddifferently, by selectively disconnecting or isolating the voltage railsfrom the power source, the central receiver 810 becomes the lowestimpedance path between the noise source and active input object andchassis ground, and as such, the resulting signals generated by thenoise source and active input object primarily flow through the centralreceiver 810 and integrator 900 where the signals can be measured.

Integrator 900, however, is only one type of circuit suitable forperforming the function of the central receiver 810. Stated generally,the central receiver 810 can be any analog circuit that measurescapacitance. For example, the central receiver 810 can include circuitrythat measures accumulated charge or the voltage across capacitor 925, orcircuitry that measures capacitance using current flowing through thecentral receiver 810.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 1000 for identifying thenoise or communication signal using capacitive sensing, according to oneembodiment described herein. At block 1005, the input device isolates areference voltage rail from a power source. For example, switches mayselectively disconnect the reference voltage rails from the power sourceor the rails may be permanently isolated from the power source byinductive coupling. In one embodiment, a capacitor (e.g., bypasscapacitor 214 shown in FIG. 8 ) may be connected between the rails toprovide temporary power for the components in the input device poweredby the reference voltage rails which may be disconnected when thecapacitive sensing signals are received. For example, display updatingand capacitive sensing may be performed while the voltage rails areisolated from the power supply.

At block 1010, a central receiver is coupled to chassis ground (throughits power supplies) and to one or more display and/or sensor electrodesin the display/sensing panel. Moreover, the central receiver may providea low impedance path between the electrodes and ground. Thus, when anoise source becomes capacitively coupled to the electrodes in the panelor a communication signal from an active input device is received on theelectrodes, a current loop is formed that flows through the centralreceiver.

At block 1015, the central receiver acquires resulting signals from thedisplay and sensor electrodes simultaneously. For example, the displayelectrodes, sensor electrodes, and the central receiver may be coupledto a common electrical node such that the combination of the resultingsignals generated on the display and sensor electrodes flow through thereceiver to reach chassis ground.

In one embodiment, the central receiver may acquire the resultingsignals when in the low-power state recited above in FIG. 6 when thedisplay and sensor modules are deactivated. During a first time period,the input device may acquire resulting signals while the referencevoltage rails are not modulated in order to identify an interferencesignal or communication signal. During a second time period, the inputdevice may acquire resulting signals while the reference voltage railsare modulated as discussed in FIG. 6 . Moreover, if an interferencesignal is detected during the first time period, the input device maychange the modulated signal used to modulate the voltage rails duringthe second time period to avoid harmful interference from a noisesource. However, as mentioned above, method 1000 may also be performedby itself or in parallel with display updating when the input device isin an active or high-power state.

At block 1020, the input device identifies at least one of aninterference signal and a communication signal from an active inputdevice based on the acquired resulting signals. If an interferencesignal is identified, the input device may compensate for the signal by,for example, switching to a modulation signal that is outside the rangeof the interference signal when performing capacitive sensing. If acommunication signal is received, the input device may process thesignal to determine information about the active input object. Forexample, the communication signal may identify the current tilt of theinput object relative to the display/sensing panel, a particular coloror marking to be displayed in a location where the input object contactsthe panel, or an ID for the input object or other object (e.g., aBluetooth connection) attempting to pair with the input device. Inanother example, the communication signal may indicate to the inputdevice that a button on the input object was pressed by the user whichmay correspond to a particular function in the input device such asswitching to the low-power state, waking up from the low-power state,opening a particular application, changing the appearance of markingsmade in the display using the input object, and the like.

In one embodiment, if a communication signal is received, the inputdevice may increase a number of detection frames used to detect theinput object relative to a number of capacitive frames. Alternatively oradditionally, the input device may search for the location of the inputobject in the sensing region by performing a coarse search (sensingusing groups of the sensor electrodes) followed by a more granularsearch (sensing on each sensor electrode individually using localreceivers) once the position of the input object is detected during thecoarse search.

Mitigating Effects of Low Ground Mass

FIG. 11 illustrates various capacitances between an input device and itsenvironment, according to one embodiment described herein. As shown,system 1100 includes an input device 1105, input object 1110, and earthground 1115 which are capacitively coupled. The input device 1105includes a sensing region 1120 on a display/sensing panel discussedabove for performing capacitive sensing. In one embodiment, by measuringthe change in the capacitance between the sensing region 1120 and theinput object 1110 (C_(T)), the input device 1105 can determine whetherthe input object 1110 is contacting or hovering over the sensing region1120. In some examples, the input device 1105 may determine a particularlocation in the sensing region 1120 with which the input object 1110 isinteracting.

When performing capacitive sensing, however, the resulting signalsmeasured by the input device 1105 may also be affected by othercapacitances in the system 1100 besides C_(T). For example, the inputobject 1110 may be capacitively coupled to a chassis of the input device1105 which is represented by C_(BC). Further, both the input object 1110and the chassis of the input device 1105 are both typically capacitivelycoupled to earth ground 1115 as represented by C_(IG) and C_(BG),respectively. The capacitances C_(BC), C_(BG), and C_(IG) are referredto herein as ground conditions 1125. Typically, the input device 1105 isunable to control the capacitances in the ground conditions 1125 whichvary as the environment of the device 1105 varies. For example, thecapacitance C_(BC) between the input object 1110 and the chassis changesdepending on whether the user is holding the input device 1105 or thedevice 1105 is placed on a table. Moreover, the capacitance C_(IG)between the input object 1110 and earth ground 1115 changes if the useris standing on the earth or in an airplane. The input device 1105 maynot have any mechanism to measure the position of the input device 1105and the input object 1110 in the environment, and thus, may be unable toaccurately determine if the capacitances in the ground conditions 1125will affect the ability of the input device 1105 to measure C_(T).

Because the capacitance C_(T) between the sensing region 1120 and theinput object 1110 is typically the smallest capacitance shown in FIG. 11, it governs the amount of signal received at the input object 1105because it is the limiting impedance. However, as the capacitances inground conditions 1125 decrease as the position of the input device 1105or input object 1110 in the environment changes, these capacitances mayreduce the ability of the input device 1105 to accurately monitor C_(T).For example, if the combined capacitances in the ground conditions 1125that is in series with C_(T) has the same value as C_(T) (e.g., 1-10pF), the signal received at the input device attributable to is C_(T)halved. For example, if the input device 1105 is placed on the user'slap, the capacitance C_(BG) may be around 50 pF, and thus, have littleeffect on the signals measured by the input device 1105. However, if theinput device 1105 is placed on a table in contact with earth ground1115, the capacitance C_(BG) may be around 5 pF. Because thecapacitances C_(T) and C_(BG) are now approximately the same, the effecton the resulting signals acquired by the input device 1105 attributableto C_(T) (i.e., the capacitance the input device 1105 is attempting tomonitor) is approximately halved. Arrangements where a capacitance inthe ground conditions 1125 has a significant effect on the resultingsignals measured by the input device 1105 are referred to herein as lowground mass (LGM) conditions.

If an LGM condition exists, the input device 1105 may compare theresulting signals to thresholds used detect a touch or hover event whichassume that the capacitances of the ground conditions 1125 are large, inwhich case the input device 1105 may fail to detect the lower capacitivechange of a touch/hover event. In order to accurately detect touch/hoverevents during an LGM condition, the input device 1105 could adjust thethresholds lower independent of LGM or based on a host controlled mode(e.g., the battery is charging); however, as mentioned above, detectingthe arrangements of the input device 1105, input object 1110, and earthground 115 which result in a LGM condition may be difficult orimpossible. Instead, the embodiments herein measure resulting signals ata central receiver that represent the total capacitance of theenvironment (which includes the capacitances in the ground conditions1125) by modulating the reference voltage rails as discussed above. Thistotal capacitance is correlated to measurements made by local receiverswhich are connected to individual sensor electrodes in the sensingregion 1120. In one embodiment, the resulting signals acquired by thelocal receivers are normalized using the resulting signals acquired bythe central receiver, and by so doing, cancel out (or mitigate) theeffect of the capacitances in the ground conditions 1125 on the localcapacitance measurements. In another embodiment, the thresholds areadjusted to account for the LGM estimated based on central receivermeasurement combined with local receiver measurements.

FIG. 12 is an input device 1200 that modulates reference voltage railsfor performing capacitive sensing, according to one embodiment describedherein. Like the input devices shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , input device1200 modulates the reference voltage rails 211 in order to performcapacitive sensing using the reference voltage modulator 226. In oneembodiment, the timing controller 220 opens the switches 210, 212 sothat the reference voltage rails 211 are disconnected from the powersupply voltages V_(DD) and V_(GND). As mentioned above, disconnectingthe power supplies voltages may prevent the modulation signal 228 fromadversely affecting other components in the input device 1200 (which arenot shown) that also rely on V_(DD) and V_(GND) for power.

The reference voltage modulator 226 includes a central receiver 1205that acquires resulting signals generated by modulating the referencevoltage rails 211. That is, while the modulation signal 228 is active,the central receiver 1205 measures resulting signals from display and/orsensor electrodes 240, 242 in the panel 234. Generally, because thecentral receiver 1205 is coupled to the reference voltage rails 211, thereceiver 1205 may acquire resulting signals from any components in thepanel 234 that are electrically coupled (either directly or indirectly)to the voltage rails 211. Referring to FIG. 11 , in one embodiment, theresulting signals measured by the central receiver 1205 are affected bythe capacitance C_(T) as well as the capacitances in the groundconditions 1125—i.e., C_(BC), C_(IG), and C_(BG). Moreover, although thecentral receiver 1205 is shown coupled to the reference voltage rail211B, in other embodiments, receiver 1205 may be coupled to the uppervoltage rail 211A or other power supplies 335. Additionally, the centralreceiver 1205 does not need to be located on the controller 220 butcould disposed on the same integrated circuit as the power managementcontroller 230 or on a separate integrated circuit.

The input device 1200 also includes local receivers 1210 located in thedisplay/sensing panel 234. In one embodiment, each of the localreceivers 1210 is coupled to only one of the sensor electrodes in orderto measure a local capacitance value corresponding to the panel 234.That is, unlike resulting signals acquired by the central receiver 1205which are affected by the total capacitance of display/sensing panel234, the resulting signals measured by the of local receivers 1210 areaffected by a local capacitance value for a sub-portion of the panel234. The shape and size of the sub-portion of the panel 234 may dependdirectly on the shape and size of the sensor electrode 242 coupled tothe local receiver 1210. In one embodiment, a local receiver 1210 may becoupled to multiple sensor electrodes 242. Regardless, the localreceivers 1210 measure a capacitance value for only a portion of thesensing region defined by the panel 234 rather than measuring a totalcapacitance value for the panel 234 like the central receiver 1205.

Although the input device 1200 may measure resulting signals at thecentral receiver 1205 at a different (non-overlapping) time period thanit measures resulting signals at the local receivers 1210, in oneembodiment, the central and local receivers 1205, 1210 measure theresulting signals in parallel (e.g., simultaneously measuring both onsame local receiver 1205 and on the central receiver 1210). Putdifferently, when modulating the reference voltage rails 211 usingmodulation signal 228, both central receiver 1205 and the localreceivers 1210 can acquire resulting signals. The resulting signalsmeasured by the central receiver 1205 would include the resultingsignals generated by all the sensor electrodes 242 (as well as othercomponents in the panel 234 such as display electrodes 240), while theresulting signals acquired by each of the local receiver 1210 aregenerated on only one, or a subset, of the sensor electrodes 242 and/ortheir thresholds. Also, it may be assumed that user inputs and LGMconditions change slowly relative to these measurements. In this manner,even measurements made at overlapping times may be combined to estimateLGM conditions.

Although the resulting signals measured by the central and localreceivers 1205, 1210 are different, the measured values are affectedequally by the capacitances in the ground conditions 1125 shown in FIG.11 . That is, assuming there are no changes in the arrangement of theinput device 1105 relative to the input object 1110 and earth ground1115 when measuring the total capacitance and when measuring the localcapacitances, the ground conditions 1125 for these measurements areessentially the same. Based on this relationship, the input device 1200in FIG. 12 can use the total capacitance represented by the resultingsignals received at the central receiver 1205 in order to normalize theresulting signals received on the local receivers 1210 to mitigate orremove the effect of the ground conditions on the local capacitancemeasurements.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart fora method 1300 of mitigating effects of an LGMcondition, according to one embodiment described herein. At block 1305,the timing controller electrically isolates the reference voltage railsfrom the DC power source (i.e., power supply voltages V_(DD) andV_(GND)) by selectively disconnecting or using an indirect couplingtechnique such as inductive coupling. Referring to FIG. 12 , the timingcontroller 220 uses gate voltages in order to deactivate the switches210, 212 thereby disconnecting the reference voltage rails 211 from theDC power supply.

At block 1310, the reference voltage modulator 226 generates a signalthat modulates at least one of the reference voltage rails. In oneembodiment, the modulation is performed with respect to chassis ground(e.g., V_(GND)). Thus, to the perspective of the components in the inputdevice that are not connected to the reference voltage rails, thecomponents connected to the modulated reference voltage rail aremodulating. However, to the perspective of the components connected tothe reference voltage rail, other components in the input device, aswell as the input object, appear to be modulating.

At block 1315, the central receiver acquires resulting signals from aplurality of sensor electrodes. Because the sensor electrodes mayestablish a sensing region for the display/sensing panel, by acquiringresulting signals from the sensor electrodes, the central receiver can,at block 1320, derive a general capacitive measurement for the panelfrom the resulting signals. In one embodiment, the general capacitivemeasurement may be a current in the input device that is caused by theresulting signals. Alternatively, the general capacitive measurement maya digital signal derived from the resulting signals using an ADC in thecentral receiver. In one embodiment, the general capacitive measurementis caused by resulting signals generated on all the sensor electrodes inthe display/sensing panel and represents a total capacitance of thepanel. Moreover, the central receiver may acquire resulting signals fromdisplay electrodes and other circuitry in the panel to derive thegeneral capacitive measurement. FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary systemwhere the general capacitive measurement can be measured by the centralreceiver.

FIG. 14 illustrates various capacitances between an input device 1105and an environment 1405, according to one embodiment described herein.In one embodiment, the environment 1405 includes the surrounding areaproximate to the input device 1105. For example, the environment 1405may include objects that the input device 1105 contacts—e.g., a tablethe device 1105 is resting on or a user's hand that is holding thedevice 1105—as well as objects that are capacitively coupled to theinput device 1105 but may not contact the device 1105 such as inputobject 1110—e.g., a finger or stylus. In one embodiment, the environment1405 may include earth ground.

As shown in FIG. 14 , different components in the input device 1105 arecapacitively coupled to objects in the environment 1405. For example,the environment is capacitively coupled to a back plate chassis 1410(e.g., C₁) and the display/sensing panel 234 (C₂). The value of thesecapacitances may change depending on the location of the input device1105 in the environment as well as environmental conditions (e.g.,humidity). For example, the values of C₁ and C₂ may change when theinput device 1105 is resting on a table versus when it is being held bythe user. The capacitances C₁ and C₂ may define, at least in part, thegrounding conditions of the input device 1105. As discussed above, ifthese capacitances have similar values as the capacitance C_(T) betweenthe input object 1110 and a current conveyor 1420, an LGM condition canoccur.

The capacitance C₃ between the environment 1405 and input object 1110can also affect the ground conditions of the input device 1105. Thecapacitance C₃ may change depending on the input objects locationrelative to earth ground. For example, the value of C₃ may be smallerwhen the user (who is holding the input object 1110) is standing on aninsulative surface rather than standing directly on the earth. Likecapacitances C₁ and C₂, the relative locations of the input object 1110and the objects in the environment 1405 can change the capacitance C₃and result in an LGM condition which may negatively affect the abilityof the input device 1105 to measure C_(T).

FIG. 14 also includes capacitance C_(HC) between the back plate chassis1410 (which may be coupled to chassis ground) and the input object whichmay be part of the ground condition for the input device 1105. Forexample, if the input device 1105 is a laptop and the input object 1110is a user, the capacitance C_(HC) may vary depending on whether theinput device 1105 is resting on the user's lap or on a table. Moreover,FIG. 14 includes a coupling capacitance C_(P) between the input object1110 and the display/sensing panel 234. In addition to beingcapacitively coupled to the current conveyor 1420 (and a correspondingsensor electrode coupled to the conveyor 1420), the input object 1110may be coupled to other components in the panel 234 such as displayelectrodes, other sensor electrodes, source drivers, gate line selectionlogic, and the like. In one embodiment, the capacitance C_(P) representsthe total capacitance between the input object 1110 and the variouscomponents in the panel 234.

The central receiver 1205 is illustrated in this embodiment as anintegrator which acquires resulting signals from the display and/orsensor electrodes (as well as other circuitry) in the display/sensingpanel 234. The acquired signals are affected by the various capacitancesin FIG. 14 , and thus, by processing the signals acquired whenmodulating the reference voltage rails, the central receiver can derivethe general capacitive sensing measurement discussed at block 1320 ofFIG. 13 . Although not shown, the central receiver 1205 may include ademodulator, filter, buffer, and/or ADC for processing the acquiredsignals and deriving the general capacitive sensing measurement. Notethat the current conveyor 1420 and central receiver integrator 1205serve similar purposes to integrator 500 and integrator 900 previouslydiscussed. Further although 1205 is shown with a reset switch forintegrating capacitance C_(FB), it may instead incorporate a low passfilter resistance such as resistor 520 for continuous time sensing, justas integrators 500, 900 may incorporate a reset switch for discrete timesensing. Further note that the current conveyor 1420 may also be used toperform level shifting of the capacitive sensing current to the voltagereference of the integrator 1205 and increase the effective dynamicrange of the integrator 1205. A similar current conveyor may also beincluded into integrators 500, 900 to perform the same functions.Alternately, where the dynamic range of the integrator 1205 issufficient, current conveyor 1420 may be unnecessary. Currents from thedisplay/sensing panel 234 and the input object (e.g. through theisolated local receiver supplies) may be routed directly to integrator1205 while its reference V_(REF) is modulated.

The output voltage (V_(OUT)) of the integrator 1205 when acquiringresulting signals may be expressed as:

$\begin{matrix}V_{{{{{OUT} = {\frac{1}{{\alpha C}_{FB}}|{\frac{C_{1}C_{3 + {{({C_{1} + C_{2} + C_{3}})}C_{HC}}}}{{({C_{1} + C_{2}})} + {{({C_{1} + C_{2}})}{({C_{HC} + C_{P} + C_{T}})}}}C_{T}}}}\rbrack}V_{MOD}} + V_{REF}} & (1)\end{matrix}$

The capacitance C_(B) represents the background capacitance whereC_(T)=C_(F)+C_(B). The current through the power modulation supply(V_(MOD)) from the display/sensing panel 234 to the back plate chassis1410 can be represented as:

$\begin{matrix}{I_{1} = \frac{\begin{matrix}{{C_{HC}( {{C_{3}( {C_{P} + C_{T}} )} + {C_{2}( {C_{3} + C_{P} + C_{T}} )}} )} +} \\{C_{1}( {{( {C_{3} + C_{CH}} )( {C_{P} + c_{T}} )} +} } \\{ ( {C_{2}( {C_{3} + C_{HC} + C_{P} + C_{T}} )} ) )V_{MOD}}\end{matrix}}{\begin{matrix}{{C_{3}( {C_{HC} + C_{P} + C_{T}} )} + {C_{1}( {C_{3} + C_{HC} + C_{P} + C_{T}} )} +} \\{C_{2}( {C_{3} + C_{HC} + C_{P} + C_{T}} )}\end{matrix}}} & (2)\end{matrix}$

Returning to FIG. 13 , at block 1325, the input device determines localcapacitive sensing measurement from each of the sensor electrodes. Thatis, instead of acquiring resulting signals from multiple electrodes(e.g., a group of sensor electrodes or both display and sensorelectrodes) like the central receiver, the input device may use eachlocal receiver to acquire resulting signals from one sensor electrode.By processing the resulting signals, the local receivers can eachdetermine a local capacitive sensing measurement that represents alocalized capacitance value for a portion of the sensing region thatincludes the sensor electrode to which the local receiver is coupled.Thus, unlike the general capacitive sensing measurement derived by thecentral receiver, the local capacitive sensing measurements mayrepresent a capacitance for a sub-portion of the sensing region in thedisplay/sensing panel. However, despite this difference between thegeneral and local capacitance measurements, both of these measurementsmay be equally affected by the ground conditions of the input device.That is, referring to FIG. 14 , the capacitances C₁, C₂, C₃, C_(HC) andC_(P) may have the same effect on the local and general capacitancemeasurements. Thus, if the values of the capacitances C₁, C₂, C₃, C_(HC)and C_(P) change, the local and general capacitance measurements changein a corresponding manner.

In one embodiment, the local receivers may acquire resulting signals inparallel with the central receiver acquiring resulting signals. Stateddifferently, while the input device modulates the reference voltagerail, the local and central receivers both measure resulting signals.Moreover, the local and central receivers may also process the resultingsignals in parallel in order to derive the local and general capacitivesensing measurements, but this is not a requirement. One advantage ofacquiring the resulting signals on the local and general receiverssimultaneously is that the ground conditions are the same (e.g.,measured at the same time). If the resulting signals were acquired atdifferent times, the location of the input device in its environment mayhave changed, thereby changing the ground conditions. As discussedbelow, if the ground conditions are the same when acquiring resultingsignals at both the general and local receivers, then by correlating thesignals, the input device can remove the effect of the ground conditionsfrom the local capacitive measurements. However, even if the local andcentral receivers do not acquire the resulting signals in parallel, anyslowing varying change (relative to the rate at which capacitivemeasurements are taken) in the ground conditions between when the localreceiver and central receiver measure the resulting signals may besmall, and thus, still permit the input device to correlate the signalsto mitigate or remove the effects of the ground conditions.

Using the circuit diagram in FIG. 14 as an example, the current measuredto detect touch through C_(T) at the current conveyor 1420 may berepresented as:

$\begin{matrix}{I_{2} = \frac{( {{C_{1}C_{3}} + {( {C_{1} + C_{2} + C_{3}} )C_{HC}}} )C_{T}V_{MOD}}{\begin{matrix}{{C_{3}( {C_{HC} + C_{P} + C_{T}} )} + {C_{1}( {C_{3} + C_{HC} + C_{P} + C_{T}} )} +} \\{C_{2}( {C_{3} + C_{HC} + C_{P} + C_{T}} )}\end{matrix}}} & (3)\end{matrix}$

The current I₁ in Equation 2 between the display/sensing panel 234 andthe back plate chassis 1410 is highly correlated with current I₂ inEquation 3. For example, each of these currents is dependent on thecapacitances C_(HP) and C₁. As the arrangement of the input device 1105in the environment 1405 changes, the capacitances C_(HP) and C₁ maycause an LGM condition.

Returning to FIG. 13 , at block 1330, the input device mitigates aneffect the ground conditions have on the resulting signals acquired bythe local receivers using the resulting signals acquired by the centralreceiver. In one embodiment, the resulting signals measured by thecentral receiver (or a general capacitive measurement derived therefrom)is used to normalize the resulting signals acquired by the localreceives (or a local capacitive measurement derived therefrom). Forexample, the current I₂ in Equation 3 (e.g., a local capacitive sensingmeasurement) can be normalized by dividing by the current I₁ in Equation2 (e.g., a general capacitive sensing measurement).

$\begin{matrix}{\frac{I_{2}}{I_{1}} = \frac{( {{C_{1}C_{3}} + {( {C_{1} + C_{2} + C_{3}} )C_{HC}}} )C_{T}}{\begin{matrix}{C_{HC}( {{C_{3}( {C_{P} + C_{T}} )} + {C_{2}( {C_{3} + C_{P} + C_{T}} )} +} } \\ {{C_{1}( {C_{3} + C_{HC}} )( {C_{P} + C_{T}} )} + {C_{2}( {C_{3} + C_{HC} + C_{P} + C_{T}} )}} )\end{matrix}}} & (4)\end{matrix}$

The normalized current shown in Equation 4 has smaller dependences tothe capacitances forming the ground conditions relative to thedependences in currents I₁ and I₂ which results in the normalize currentnot being strongly correlated to the capacitances C_(HC) and C₁. Putdifferently, changes in the values of capacitances C_(HC) and C₁, mayresult in small changes (or no changes) to the normalized current whencompared to the changes in the non-normalized currents I₁ and I₂.

FIG. 15 is a chart 1500 illustrating the results of mitigating theeffects of an LGM condition, according to one embodiment describedherein. Specifically, an upper plot 1505 illustrates the corrected localreceiver signal that has been normalized using the resulting signalsacquired by the central receiver while a lower plot 1510 illustrates anuncorrected signal. As shown, the upper plot 1505 is less susceptible tochanges in the capacitive coupling between the input object 1110 and theback plate chassis 1410 (i.e., C_(HC) and the capacitive couplingbetween the back plate chassis 1410 and the environment 1405 (i.e., C₁)than the lower plot 1510. Thus, changes in the values of groundcondition capacitances C_(HC) and C₁ have less of an effect on thenormalized capacitive sensing signals in plot 1505 than theun-normalized capacitive sensing signals in plot 1510.

Another advantage of normalizing the local capacitive sensingmeasurement using the general capacitive sensing measurement is that thenormalized signals are not dependent on V_(MOD). Thus, any noise coupledinto the voltage used to modulate the reference voltage rails iscancelled out. Even further, normalizing the local and generalcapacitive measurements may also mitigate noise introduced by objectsthat cause the ground conditions. For example, referring to FIG. 14 ,any noise introduced into the input device 1105 via the couplingcapacitance C₁, C₂, C₃, C_(HC) and C_(P) may be cancelled out bycorrelating the resulting signals acquired by the local and centralreceivers. Thus, any noise signal introduced by the ground conditioncapacitances that couple the input device to external objects can beremoved.

Thus, the embodiments and examples set forth herein were presented inorder to best explain the embodiments in accordance with the presenttechnology and its particular application and to thereby enable thoseskilled in the art to make and use the present technology. However,those skilled in the art will recognize that the foregoing descriptionand examples have been presented for the purposes of illustration andexample only. The description as set forth is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise form disclosed.

In view of the foregoing, the scope of the present disclosure isdetermined by the claims that follow.

We claim:
 1. An input device, comprising: a plurality of sensorelectrodes; and a processing system, comprising: a first receiverelectrically coupled to the plurality of sensor electrodes, wherein thefirst receiver is configured to acquire first resulting signals fromeach of the plurality of sensor electrodes and determine, based on thefirst resulting signals, a first capacitive measurement representing atotal capacitance value of the plurality of sensor electrodes; and aplurality of second receivers, separate from the first receiver, eachcoupled to a subset of the plurality of sensor electrodes, wherein theplurality of second receivers are configured to acquire second resultingsignals from the subset of the plurality of sensor electrodes anddetermine a second capacitive measurement representing a localizedcapacitance value for the subset of the plurality of sensor electrodes,wherein the processing system is configured to mitigate an effect agrounding condition has on the second capacitive measurement using thefirst capacitive measurement.
 2. The input device of claim 1, furthercomprising: a reference voltage modulator configured to modulate areference voltage used to provide power to a plurality of powersupplies.
 3. The input device of claim 2, wherein the first receiveracquires the first resulting signals when the reference voltage ismodulated.
 4. The input device of claim 2, further comprising: acontroller configured to disconnect the reference voltage from a powersource while the reference voltage is modulated.
 5. The input device ofclaim 1, wherein the first receiver comprises first circuitry and thesecond receivers comprise second circuitry and wherein the firstcircuitry is different than the second circuitry.
 6. The input device ofclaim 1, wherein acquiring the second resulting signals occurs inparallel with acquiring the first resulting signals.
 7. The input deviceof claim 1, wherein the processing system further comprises: a displaymodule configured to update pixels in a display screen, wherein thedisplay module and the plurality of second receivers are disposed withina common integrated circuit.
 8. The input device of claim 1, wherein theprocessing system further comprises: a display module configured toupdate pixels in a display screen, wherein the display module isdisposed within a first integrated circuit and at least a portion of theplurality of second receivers is disposed within a second integratedcircuit.
 9. A processing system comprising: a first receiver configuredto be electrically coupled to a plurality of sensor electrodes and toacquire first resulting signals from each of the plurality of sensorelectrodes and determine, based on the first resulting signals, a firstcapacitive measurement representing a total capacitance value of theplurality of sensor electrodes; and a plurality of second receivers,separate from the first receiver, configured to be coupled to a subsetof the plurality of sensor electrodes and to acquire second resultingsignals from the subset of the plurality of sensor electrodes anddetermine a second capacitive measurement representing a localizedcapacitance value for the subset of the plurality of sensor electrodes,wherein the processing system is configured to mitigate an effect agrounding condition has on the second capacitive measurement using thefirst capacitive measurement.
 10. The processing system of claim 9,further comprising: a reference voltage modulator configured to modulatea reference voltage used to provide power to a plurality of powersupplies.
 11. The processing system of claim 10, wherein the firstreceiver acquires the first resulting signals when the reference voltageis modulated.
 12. The processing system of claim 10, further comprising:a controller configured to disconnect the reference voltage from a powersource while the reference voltage is modulated.
 13. The processingsystem of claim 10, wherein the first receiver comprises first circuitryand the second receivers comprise second circuitry and wherein the firstcircuitry is different than the second circuitry.
 14. The processingsystem of claim 9, wherein acquiring the second resulting signals occursin parallel with acquiring the first resulting signals.
 15. Theprocessing system of claim 9, further comprising: a display moduleconfigured to update pixels in a display screen, wherein the displaymodule and the plurality of second receivers are disposed within acommon integrated circuit.
 16. The processing system of claim 9, furthercomprising: a display module configured to update pixels in a displayscreen, wherein the display module is disposed within a first integratedcircuit and at least a portion of the plurality of second receivers isdisposed within a second integrated circuit.
 17. A method, comprising:acquiring, from a first receiver electrically coupled to a plurality ofsensor electrodes, first resulting signals from each of the plurality ofsensor electrodes; determining, based on the first resulting signals, afirst capacitive measurement representing a total capacitance value ofthe plurality of sensor electrodes; acquiring, from a plurality ofsecond receivers, separate from the first receiver, each coupled to asubset of the plurality of sensor electrodes, second resulting signalsfrom the subset of the plurality of sensor electrodes; determining,based on the second resulting signals, a second capacitive measurementrepresenting a localized capacitance value for the subset of theplurality of sensor electrodes; and mitigating an effect a groundingcondition has on the second capacitive measurement using the firstcapacitive measurement.
 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:modulating a reference voltage used to provide power to a plurality ofpower supplies; and electrically isolating the reference voltage from apower source while the reference voltage is modulated.
 19. The method ofclaim 18, wherein the first resulting signals are acquired in parallelwith the second resulting signals.
 20. The method of claim 17, furthercomprising: acquiring, from the first receiver, third resulting signalsfrom a plurality of display electrodes; determining a third capacitivemeasurement representing a total capacitance of the plurality of displayelectrodes; and mitigating the effect the grounding condition has on thesecond capacitive measurements using the third capacitive measurement.